Spoonerism…

…isn’t a 16^th-century movement of soup-enthusiasts. Neither is it the name of a 1960s snuggle support group. The term “Spoonerism” refers to William A. Spooner (1844-1930), a British cleric and scholar who is credited with the discovery of the “sound-swap-technique”. As a means to create word play, Spoonerisms work by exchanging, or “swapping” initial sounds or syllables of words within a phrase. Some famous examples being “the Lord is a shoving leopard”, “can I sew you to another sheet?” and “go and shake a tower”.

Tops of the Sling

In spoken language, Spoonerisms are often begotten by accident or slips of the tongue. It may just so happen that initial consonants of words are mixed up and create humorous effects:

Allergic Grammar Sills

Though Spoonerisms are usually restricted to the mere interchange of the initial consonant sounds, e.g. candle with hare, they are in fact syllabic anagrams. It is not as important to stick to the given letters as it is to switch complete sound particles from the words.

There is a thin line however, that separates Spoonerisms from anagrams. It is therefore challenging to keep close to the original phrase and still try to invent something new:

Irate your Crone

If you want to create your own Spoonerisms, good inspiration is where you find it. Take worms or idiots that strike your attention.

Experiment with the tonal length of the vowels.

Education is but the failing of a pill, not the fighting of a liar.
Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. (William Butler Yeats)

Now it is time to fit thee bare well… Spooner-Style!

Solutions: